Drowning in Lace
by The Thorned Rose
Summary: Pegasus Kidnaps Tea, believing she is his wife's reincarnate. Days turn into months missing and the police have closed the case. Can Yugi and the gang find Tea? Or will she receive help from an unlikely source.
1. Chapter 1

It was just another night in domino; the moon was shining, parents were busy putting their children in bed, and Tea Gardener was walking home from dance class. She was completely unaware that she was being followed and has been for the past several weeks. A man in a black car drove at a safe distance behind her, 'It has to be her,' he thought to himself. 'Her facial features are so similar. Her personality is just as bubbly as I remember it. The only thing different was her brown hair. He has known it was her since he first laid eyes on her at duelist kingdom.' He looked down at a picture of his deceased wife and whispered, "Don't worry Cecelia, I will make you remember who you are." Now in an area completely void of human habitation…well except for one person, but his eyes were glued to a computer screen, he picked up his cellphone and called his contact, "It's time boys!"

Suddenly out of an alley close to Kaiba Corp, a black van sped out and stopped next to her. A two men wearing ski masks, came out from the shadows and grabbed her. She struggled but they placed a rag in front of her face. Suddenly her body went limp. They threw her in the van and sped off.

The man in the black car smiled and took off his sunglasses. "I better get back to the penthouse to greet my wife." He drove off heading to where his new office was located. On the 38th floor of the building his personal office and penthouse was located. As soon as you exited the elevator, you were presented to a very large office. A secret book on the bookshelf revealed the entrance to his penthouse and soon to be his beautiful wife's home as well.

On the ride to the penthouse, Tea woke up and found that her hands and legs were tied. She went to scream for help but soon discovered her mouth was covered. There was no getting out of this now.

The sound of a ding signaled the three people he was waiting for had arrived. Bandit Keith who had been carrying the tied up girl, threw Tea on the floor. Pegasus ran to her side, "Gentlemen, this is no way to treat a lady! I am terribly sorry Cecelia," he said as he removed the duct tape from her mouth.

"Actually Pegasus, the name is Tea. And, how dare you pull that stunt you pulled today? Are you still a little sore from losing to Yugi in that duel?" she asked venomously.

To this Pegasus actually started laughing, "Oh my darling Cecilia, after all this time you certainly haven't lost your spirit!"

"My name is not CECILIA!" She screamed, "And I will make sure everyone in this whole building knows it if you do not let me go this instant!"

"Tsk Tsk Tsk, Temper Temper my darling!" Pegasus then turned to the other masked man. He took his mask off revealing Valon. Pegasus suggested, "There is hair dye in the bathroom. Make sure she gets all dolled up and then we will have dinner.

Valon nodded and untied the girl, she ran to the elevator trying to escape and for some reason they didn't stop her. Unfortunately, the elevator refused to open. Valon then explained, "You need a key to access the elevator to and from this room. Pegasus and I are the only ones with a key." She then started to pound on it and screamed as loud as she could to get help from somebody… anybody. "This entire floor is also sound proof," Valon clarified. She bowed her head in defeat, tears were falling freely and he walked over to the book case. Pegasus pulled out a button on his keys and the bookshelf opened revealing a very nice and large penthouse. "After you," Valon said politely. He wasn't expecting the death glare she gave him.

He led her to the bathroom and handed her a box of blond hair dye, a box which she assumed had some designer clothes in it, and a photograph. He then said, "Make yourself resemble her as much as possible."

"Or what?" she challenged.

He let out a sigh and pulled out a gun. Her eyes grew wide in fear and she he slammed the bathroom door. He sat on the floor outside because he was supposed to keep guard. She looked around the bathroom and saw to the right, there was a large amount of new makeup and a glass jewelry box containing several different necklaces, on the mahogany vanity across from the counter. On the left a hairdryer was attached to the wall and there was several curling products sitting on the counter. To the back of the large bathroom, there was a large bathtub and a door which she assumed lead to the toilet.

She sat on the side of the tub and began to start dyeing her brown locks to blond. After finishing the dyeing process and drying her hair, she looked at the photograph Valon gave her and truly realized how much she resembled Pegasus's dead wife Cecelia.

She then opened the box Valon had given her and found a very old fashioned sky blue dress. It had 3 pink bows on the bodice and fluted sleeves. 'Oh, this is going to be hell,' she thought to herself as she put the gown on. If that wasn't bad enough, the dress was covered in ruffles and had a matching pink hair bow. Taking a final glance at the photo she decided to skip the jewelry and make up. After all, she was trying to convince him that she wasn't his wife Cecelia.

She stepped out the bathroom and Valon stood up. "Wow, you really do look like her," he said in amazement.

He handed her a pair of pink heals and told her to follow.

Pegasus stood in the kitchen dressed in a fancy red suit, waiting for his beloved to enter. When Tea entered the kitchen in his wife's gown he was astonished. He pulled a red rose from behind his back and said, "I knew it was you Cecilia."

….

The phone rang at the game shop. It was late at night so Yugi got up out of his bed. "Hello," he mumbled sleepily.

"Yugi, This is Ms. Gardener, Tea's mom." said the voice on the telephone.

Questions like, 'Why would she be calling? Why so late?' ran through his head. "Yes Ms. Gardener, can I help you?" He asked curiously.

A frightened voice asked, "Did Tea spend the night at your house, because she didn't come home last night?"

Yugi's eyes became wide. Tea didn't make it home! Where can she be? "No mam she didn't. But, calm down, I will call up the gang and see if she is staying with one of them. If not, we can all go searching for her. There is strength in numbers after all."

"Okay, I will be at the game shop in a few minutes." She answered.

Yugi quickly responded, "No, I need you to stay at home in case she returns. If we do need to go searching for her I will text you all our cellphone numbers so we can keep in touch. I gotta go call the gang. I will let you know what is going on as soon as I know something. Bye."

He quickly hung up the phone and started making calls.

…

"I am not Cecelia, Pegasus. My name is Tea Gardener. Why aren't you listening to me?" She asked angrily.

Pegasus picked up his wine glass and swished the contents around the glass while answering, "Oh I realize your name is Tea in this life. However, in your past life your name was Cecelia. You were my soulmate and I intend on reminding you of that."

"Past life, soul mate? Look Pegasus you have this all wrong. I am not your wife reincarnated, this is ridiculous." She retorted angrily.

"No darling, it makes perfect sense. Your looks are almost exact as well as your personality. You are 16 years old, Cecilia died 17 years ago. I know it is you. You just need something to jog your memory. Before we get into that, let's eat."

…

Yugi and his friends Joey, Tristan, Serenity and Mai met up at the game shop to start a search party. Each drove all over town looking for Tea. However, no one found anything that might signal where Tea might have went. They even checked the dance studio to see if she might have fallen asleep there. They were about to give up for the night when Mai said, "Hey, why don't we ask Kaiba?"

Joey scoffed, "No offence Mai, but Kaiba and Tea have never been on the best terms. Why do you think he would know something?"

"I don't," she replied simply, "But, doesn't she take the same route every day from dance school?"

"That's right," Yugi answers, "She passes right in front of Kaiba Corp."

"Well maybe Kaiba's video cameras caught something." She concluded.

"Do you think Kaiba would be there this late?" Tristan asked.

"Moneybags is always awake," Joey answered, "I am seriously wondering if he is a vampire or something."

…

Kaiba was clicking away at his laptop, when he heard a knock at the door. With Mokuba a sleep on the couch and all of his workers home at this time, Kaiba became suspicious. He opened his top drawer and placed his hand on his pistol. "Come in." He said cautiously.

When a mop of spikey black, red, and gold hair walked in, he placed his pistol back in his drawer and asked, "What do you want?"

"What ya doin' with a gun Kaiba?" Joey asked.

"You decided to show up at my office at 2:00 in the morning. Generally anyone out past 12:00 is up to no good. Especially if you happen to run a multibillion dollar corporation. Now I will ask you again what do you want mutt?" Kaiba asked.

Before Joey could retort, Tristan said, "We were wondering if we could check out your surveillance videos,"

Kaiba's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "What for?" He turned his head when he heard something glass break. Joey froze in place and Kaiba let out an irritated sigh, "Yugi, you do realize there are some leash laws you are breaking right now?"

"Why you little," Joey screamed as he charged towards the desk when he was stopped by Tristan holding onto the back of his shirt.

"Please, Kaiba this is a serious matter we are tending to." Serenity begged.

Kaiba smirked, "Oh, I am sorry serenity. I didn't know he was your Seeing Eye dog. Now if someone would tell me what the issue is instead of wasting my time, that would be greatly appreciated."

"Tea is missing." Mai said impatiently. She was obviously just as irritated about the time they were wasting as Kaiba was.

"Tea is missing?" Mokuba said sleepily, the crash of the figureine had woken him from his slumber.

Kaiba looked around and noticed her presence definitely was missing. He said, "I should have realized, you know with the lack of friendship speeches floating around."

Yugi then continued, "Tea passes Kaiba Corp. every day to and from her ballet school."

Kaiba started to type on his computer and pulled up today's surveillance footage. "What time does she go to dance school?"

"Right after school," Tristan answered.

He fast-forwarded through the footage until a familiar face came on camera. The gang surrounded his chair and watched her until she was off screen.

"Okay, she made it past your building to her dance school. But what about on her way back? I heard her tell me she was going to stay at the dance studio until 7:30 tonight." Mai asked.

Seto Kaiba continued to fast-forward until about 8:00, her dance studio was about 30 minutes from Kaiba corp. About 3 minutes in she appeared on screen. However, she wasn't the only one. He saw two men sneak up on her. She put up a fight but immediately stopped struggling when the placed a rag over her mouth and nose.

Joey heard Kaiba mumble, "They must have used chloroform."

They pulled her in the van and sped away.

"We gotta do something big brother!" Mokuba shrieked in horror.

Kaiba picked up the phone and called the police, but not before mumbling, "Great another scandal at Kaiba corp."

After he got off the phone he said to the group, "I will get some private detectives on this as well. However, I cannot guarantee her safety."

"We understand Kaiba. Thank you." Serenity said.

"


	2. Chapter 2

Tea sat at the table watching her captor eat. Although she was hungry she was too afraid to eat anything. How can she know he didn't lace it with poison?

He noticed her not eating but decided to keep quiet about it. After all, he was trying to convince her that they loved each other in her previous wife. He was talking about the things they did together and the places they have seen.

Overall the story of Cecelia and his past relationship was eerily romantic. He met Cecelia at a business meeting and they hit it off immediately. He was a waiter at the party and when he first laid his eyes on her he knew she was his true love. They had a secret relationship and he (a starving artist at the time) painted pictures of his beloved. A few years later after Cecelia's parents found out about their relationship, she ran away with him and eloped. They were about to celebrate the birth of their first child, when she suddenly fell ill. Both her and her unborn child died a few days later. Pegasus was distraught he felt his world start to crumble and had been searching for a way to get her back ever since.

Shortly before Duelist Kingdom he met with a psychic and she told him her reincarnate was already here and he would meet her soon. That was when he met Tea, and he became obsessed with claiming her as his own.

After dinner he showed her to their room and asked her, "Darling does this bring back any of your memory? I had it set up just like our first home. We had spent some special times there."

Tea looked at him like he had grown a second head and replied, "If I was Cecelia it might, but I am not her, you have to let me go!"

He frowned and simply stated, "You will," he then asked, "Would you like to retire for the night my darling?"

"Absolutely not" she screamed, "I refuse to get in bed with a strange man!"

He chuckled and replied, "I figured you would say that. Very well, you may take the bedroom while I sleep on the couch."

He exited the bedroom and left it to her. Tea let out a breath of relief. Tea looked out the window and saw how high in the air the penthouse was. There was no way she could escape from here. In the other room she heard the bookcase close and realized that Pegasus and his goons must have left. Since they left she decided to search through the penthouse to see if there was any chance of finding an escape route.

After searching the area, she came to the conclusion that the elevator and the bookcase was the only door that lead to the outside. She was starving so she went to the kitchen to find some food that she hoped was not contaminate. She decided to pick up an apple and call it a night.

….

The cops arrived at Kaiba Corperation, as well as several Paparazzi as Kaiba expected this was going to lead to a great scandal. In order to improve his Public Relations department, he offered a reward of $500,000 for anyone who could find the girl. He also did it to try to cheer his brother up. He cried all last night and was terrified.

….

The next day Pegasus still hadn't returned. She noticed an old looking movie reel in one of the rooms. Curiosity got the best of her and she started the real. It was a really old movie of Pegasus and Cecelia dancing together at a business party. Despite her fear she had towards this man, she leaned her head on the movie reel. They were excellent dancers and dancing had always been her passion. Cecelia was stunning when she danced. It seemed like she was almost floating on air.

Unfortunately, her peace was interrupted by Pegasus's voice, "That was the day we first met. I asked you if you would like a glass of wine. Instead you grabbed my tray from me and pulled me out from on the dance floor. Do you remember it?"

Tea shook her head no and answered, "No, I can't remember it, because it wasn't me. I am sorry Pegasus but I am not your wife.

Pegasus frowned and threatened, "You will be." He slammed the door as he left. She flinched as she heard the door slam. This definitely wasn't going to end well.

….

For a month Kaiba searched in his free time for Tea. His little brother had become depressed and withdrawn without her presence. Several imposters showed up for the award. Along with several people claiming to have clues that lead to her. Nothing proved to be solid. He was pretty sure at this point she was dead, but refused to give up until he knew the truth. No one can hide from Seto Kaiba….but he needed to get back to work on Kaiba Corp's 25th year anniversary party.

…

Day after day Pegasus showed Tea photos, paintings, and reels trying to jog her memory. Nothing was working. He was beginning to lose his patience. Valon entered the living room where Pegasus and Tea were looking at photographs. "Mail call," he announced. Pegasus looked at the envelope it had gold calligraphy on the front. Inside it said, 'You're cordially invited to Kaiba Corp's 25th Celebration Ball.'

Pegasus jumped with excitement and screamed, "This is it. If I bring you to this ball, we will dance and I am positive you will get back your memory."

Tea's eyes grew wide and asked, "You will let me leave this room."

"Only for that night. I trust you will not say anything that is going on here. There will be consequences if you do." Pegasus threatened.

Tea bit her lip. This may be her only chance of escaping from this hell hole.

…

Pegasus had a white lace dress with fluted sleeves delivered to Tea by Valon. It had a pink bow wrapping around the waist and matching shoes. It was for the party tonight. He also delivered an amazing pink Necklace and earring set. Despite Cecelia's old time fashion, Tea had to admit she had beautiful taste in Jewelry. What she liked most was with the size of the dangle earrings, it drew attention to her face. She hoped it would get either Mokuba or Kaiba to realize who she was.

Pegasus entered the bedroom as she finished fixing her hair for the party. "You look darling Cecelia. You will be the belle of the ball tonight."

Tea looked down at her feet, she was so nervous about tonight that she couldn't bare look him in the eye (pun intended). "Thank you Pegasus," she whispered.

…. The limo pulled up to the Kaiba Mansion and it was lit up brighter than Christmas in Tokyo. It was quite a site to see. They walked up a winding staircase to reach the ball room. Tea spotted Mokuba and Kaiba greeting the guest as they entered. Her chest tightened, what if they didn't recognize her? What if they forgot her? What if…

There they were standing in front of the two Kaiba's…

Kaiba looked at the woman who Pegasus was holding hands with. He couldn't see her face too well because she was looking down. She looked nervous.

Pegasus spoke, "Good Afternoon Kaiba boy, I would like to introduce you to my wife, Cecelia."

Hesitantly she looked up at him and said G..Good Afternoon Mr. Kaiba.

Kaiba recognized her instantly. He could also see the fear in her eyes as she spoke to him. He needed to talk to her to find out what was going on.

Kaiba bowed out of respect and said, "I hope you two enjoy the party."

Tea sucked in a breath… 'He didn't recognize me. My last hope has been squished.'

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Kaiba grabbed his little brother's hand as they walked away and whispered, "Mokuba, was that who I think it was?"

Mokuba nodded and asked, "What do we do?"

"Nothing yet," Kaiba said, "I want to talk to her alone first to find out what is going on. Whatever you do, if you talk to her call her Cecelia. If Pegasus did take her hostage, I don't want to have him suspicious. It would only complicate things."

Mokuba nodded and they continued to greet the guest.

Tea sat at a table with Pegasus, she sat there as she listen to him prattling on about Duel monsters and Industrial Illusions. When a waiter passed by, she picked up a glass of white wine and started to drink it. She looked about the ballroom, it was a white room with gold trim. On the ceiling was an enormous chandelier that shined brilliantly over the dance floor. In the middle of the dance floor there was about 20 people waltzing to a live string quartet.

A woman with curly red hair and a green floor length gown approached the table. "Mr. Maximillian Pegasus, my name is Shirley. I am the daughter of Michael, the Duke of Norrington and owner of NoW Games. I was wondering if you would honor me with a dance. I am a big fan of your work."

Pegasus answered, "Ms. Shirley, I am flattered, but I am here with my beautiful wife and I was hoping she would honor me with a dance."

Tea spoke up, "Oh no, Pegasus you must dance with her. You can't refuse to dance with a lady, it is impolite. I will dance with you later. Go have fun."

Before Pegasus could speak, Shirley was dragging him towards the dance floor. Tea stood up and walked towards the balcony. Valon was watching her like a hawk so there was no chance of making a run for it. She stood on the magnificent balcony and looked over it. Roses grew up the balcony and there was a large water source that crashed upon the rocks. She estimated that she was on the fifth floor.

She had decided, if she can't escape him and gain back her peaceful life, she could at least escape to a peaceful death. She couldn't deal with watching any more home movies of him and his wife. She never wanted to see another photograph or portrait. She couldn't cope with the thought that her friends had forgotten about her after all this time. She swung her leg over the balcony to a small ledge and the other leg followed. She carefully turned on the ledge to face the lake. She silently prayed that her death would be as peaceful as this garden.

She was about to jump when she was interrupted by a voice behind her, "What are you doing Gardener?"

She was startled by the sound of his voice and her heels caused her to slip. She started to fall from the balcony. Luckily, Kaiba caught the pink belt on her dress. "Grab my other hand," he strained to say. She reached out to it and managed to grasp his arm. He wrapped that hand around her wrist and let the bow go. She shrieked when she thought she was falling again, but Kaiba still had her wrist. With the free hand her reached for her other hand and pulled her up.

At this point Kaiba was enraged. "What the hell do you think you were doing Gardener?"

"Y..you recognize me?" she asked.

Angered he harshly whispered, "Of course I recognize you, I have only been looking for you for the past 8 months. What the hell did you think you were doing?"

Tea collapsed the floor of the balcony and started to cry, "I just can't take it anymore. Pegasus thinks I am his wife's reincarnation. He made me look like her, dress like her, and act like her. He is constantly trying to make me remember something that never was. I have been shown video after video, photo after photo, painting after painting, and I can barely tell what is real anymore. Besides, by now my friends have probably forgotten about me. They wouldn't miss me."

Kaiba was shocked to say the least, the woman who was once so loyal and strong had slowly been torn down to a scared little girl.

Applause was heard coming from the doors of the balcony signaling the end of the dance. Kaiba quickly told her, "Go back in there before someone become suspicious. She nodded and started to head inside when he grabbed her arm and said, "In 15 minutes excuse yourself to go to the ladies room and walk down that hall," he pointed in the direction of an arched door way. "Enter the 2nd door on your right, I want to show you something. I will find a way to get you out of this, I promise."

She halfheartedly smiled because she knew it wouldn't be soon if he even bothered at all.

….

As she stepped back in and walked over to Pegasus, Kaiba took a good look at her. The eyes that once shined like blue diamonds had dulled into a greyish blue. She looked exhausted and thin. He needed to do something…soon.

Shortly after she left, Kaiba walked out the ball room as calmly and quietly as possible. Once he was out of everyone's sight he raced down the stairs to his office and pulled a bunch of newspaper articles out of his drawer. He folded the papers and put them inside of his jacket pocket. He then snuck his way back up to the ballroom and through the door in the hallway.

…

Pegasus asked Tea to dance when she returned from the balcony. As much as she wanted to avoid touching the old man, she agreed to ward off suspicion. When the dance ended she excused herself, and walked down the hall. As promised Kaiba was in there waiting for her. She locked the door behind her and asked, "What did you want to show me?"

He pulled the papers out of his pocket and handed them to her. She gasped and said, "So they really have been looking for me."

Kaiba nodded and replied, "We all have." She knew she didn't have much time to read them before Pegasus became suspicious so she handed them back to him. He shook his head however and replied, "Keep them, they will give you something to look at while I try to figure out how to safely get you out of there?"

Time was running short and he asked, "Where are they keeping you?"

"On the top floor of Industrial Illusions, in his penthouse. He has a hidden door behind the bookcase that only opens when the button is pushed on his key ring. The top floor of the elevator requires a key too, as far as I know, there are no stairs."

He then explained, "Pegasus is here to try to merge his company with mine. I am going to invite both of you to dinner one night this week to discuss the merger. At some point in the night, I will have Mokuba distract Pegasus while we discuss a plan. Do you think you can last with him this long?"

She nodded and whispered, "I have to go." But before she left she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. He was slightly surprised and annoyed, but after all that girl went through he decided to hug her back and for those few seconds she felt safe. When he let go, she stuffed the papers in her clutch and returned to the party.

…

As the party came to a close, Pegasus and Tea walked up to Kaiba to say their goodbyes. And as promised, Kaiba invited Pegasus and his "wife" over for dinner at 6:00 next Friday. He shook his hand and Mokuba said in a cute childlike manner, "Tea, can I tell you a secret."

He then motioned to her to walk a few feet away with him. Pegasus looked on mildly amused. Mokuba whispered, low enough for her to hear but no one else, "Big brother always keeps his promises." He then whispered a little louder to throw Pegasus and Valon off their trail, "I think you're pretty." He then started giggling and ran behind his older brother's leg. Kaiba smirked, he wasn't sure what his brother first whispered, but from the reaction on Tea's face, it cheered her up a bit.

It killed him as he watched Tea, the girl he had been looking for, walk out the door in the hands of a psychopath.


End file.
